My sweet girl

Today is picture day at school so Sofi wanted me to do something special to her hair. She had it relaxed almost a month ago and she has loved it. While the woman was doing Sofi's hair I could literally see her pulling the curl out of Sofi's hair. Whatever she put on her hair did wonders. It's that age old story of a girl with curly wanting straight and then there are girls with straight that want curly. For those of you who have felt Sofi's hair before you know it's the nappiest hair ever. I find these little circles of hair around the house and you can pull one end of it out and it's almost 5 inches long and let go and it goes back to this little circle of hair. The girl has the curliest hair I've ever seen. When she was little it wasn't that curly but when it started coming in more it went crazy.
One time when Sofi was about 2 she was standing at the counter in the kitchen and she took a metal fastener out of her hair and was about to put it in a light socket. I told her she needed to give it to me. Next thing I know she's flinging back and falling on the ground and smoke was coming out of the socket. She was fine but maybe that was the turning point for her hair :) This morning while blow drying her hair and then straightening it she got all excited and said "today I get a plastic comb". I had no idea what she was talking about so I asked. Just a little FYI for those that don't know, Sofi is in 5th grade now. She said that when they take school photo's they offer each kid their own plastic comb to fix their hair and this would be the first year she would be able to get a comb and use it. I almost started to cry. In the past Sofi has had her hair in cornrows, extensions, poofs and headbands for her school photo's. Now with her hair relaxed it lays completely down and she can comb through it. It made me sad that she was so excited to get this plastic comb today. I have watched her out of the corner of my eye as she looks longingly at her friends as they run their hands through their hair, or as Kiah brushes her own hair or puts it up in a ponytail. It's hard to watch.
It's so fun to watch her now as she looks in the mirror and tries all kinds of new styles with her hair. It sounds so superficial but it's a big deal to her. It's a matter of feeling more like the other girls instead of different. Which at this age, they don't want to be. I'm excited for Sofi today too and that she gets to use the plastic comb. Go Sofi!!!

A little late but hopefully not too late

I wanted to write up a short note about Mexico since I somehow never did. I went straight from Mexico to foot injury and have forgotten how fun the trip was and how beautiful. It was our 20th anniversary so we needed to do something special. On our honeymoon we stayed in a tiny cabin in Yellowstone with a wood burning stove and no bathroom.
While that was romantic and all we could afford at that time, 20 yrs later needed to be something bigger. We were gone for 9 days. We first went to Cozumel, which I loved and would like to go back and spend the whole vacation on that island. The water was amazing and the resort we stayed at was magical. We took a boat back to the main island and from there we rented a car and went inland to see ruins. We saw Coba, Chichen Itza and Uxmal. Uxmal was my favorite one of all.
We stayed at a Hacienda on our anniversary. It was kind of out in the middle of nowhere so I was a bit apprehensive about the accommodations, it ended up being the most beautiful place we stayed at. Mark had arranged for us to have our dinner outside but it started to rain so we ate on our veranda. It was delicious. The pool there was the coolest and after a hot muggy day it felt good to swim in. The place we stayed at has also accommodated Sting and President Bush. It was gorgeous. Definitely a step up from a little cabin in Yellowstone. We drove back to the coast and stayed in Tulum which is a cute little beach town. It was at the Tulum ruin that I fell and hurt my ankle and foot. Now 2 months later I've been put through the ringer because of that fall. I still have great memories of the trip and loved every minute of it.

bye bye baby

My baby started Kindergarten this week. Where did all that time go. I swear he was just in diapers yesterday and drinking from a bottle. Now he's starting school and it's feels strange. I had mixed emotions when I dropped him off, it was sad yet having sent two other kids to Kindergarten and survived I knew I would be fine with Miles gone. It also helped that it was a nice sunny day and I went and visited a friend. The teacher had the kids line up against the wall and wait until all the kids had shown up and then she marched them down to their classroom. He is so much taller than the other kids that he looks a bit out of place yet emotionally he's the same as the others. Miles had brought in a shirt the night before class and asked me if it was "special" and should he wear it to school? I went into his room and he had his backpack and clothes all laid out and ready to go. When we were leaving to go to school he asked me if there would be a "welcome party" for him when he got there. I love that he was that excited and that he knows to feel welcomed and cared for, instead of feeling scared and alone. It does feel strange to be sending my last child to school. Kindergarten isn't really long enough to do anything but it is enough to have a break. It just feels strange to have him gone during the day and to know he is growing up. He's been such a momma's boy and I hope that doesn't change. When he got off the bus the first day I was ready to take photo's of him getting off the bus. He ran at me so fast yelling "mommy" that I had to brace myself so I wouldn't fall down. He's a lean kid but he's strong! That made me more weepy than when I dropped him off at school. It feels good to know you are still loved.

Last hoorah of summer

I have been stuck in the house far too long this summer because of my ankle and foot. On Sunday after church Mark called to tell me he was on his way home after meetings and it popped into my head that I wanted to go camping. Mark would never say "no" to camping so he came home and we packed up in record time and headed off to go camping. We didn't get to our campsite until about 8:45pm, so we just sat up camp and went to bed. There is a fire ban so when it's 9ish at night out in the middle of nowhere, with no fire going on, there isn't much to do but go to sleep. Because of going to bed so early, we woke up early. Mark, Miles and I took the canoe out while the girls slept and it was completely peaceful. It was just what I needed. There were no sounds, the sun was out and the scenery was amazing. Plus I was with my two favorite guys. What more can you ask for? Oh and I had a cold coke waiting for me back at camp. That topped it off. We played by the river for a while and then headed down to cooper lake to go swimming in a swimming hole that Mark knew about. It was the coldest water I've ever gone swimming in, but it was just that initial freezing, it got better. We played for a while and then headed home. It was short but sweet and just what the doctor ordered. Well actually my doctor would most likely be upset if he knew I was out and about on my foot but I had about had it and I needed to be enjoying the last days of summer. Hope you enjoy the video that Mark made.

Double digits baby!!!!!

Sofi just turned 10 and had been counting down the days for her double digit birthday. It's so strange that she is already 10. It seems like yesterday that Mark and I flew to Florida to adopt Sofi. We had got a call the week before she was born from a lawyer in Florida that we had sent our adoption papers to. A Birth Mother had seen our portfolio and had chosen us. I can remember it so clearly. We flew to Florida on a Sunday and Sofi had been born on Saturday afternoon. We went with a car carrier and that was all we had. We flew in around 2am on Monday morning slept a bit and then got up to go to the hospital. It was so surreal and like I was floating on clouds and that the clouds were carrying me from one stage of the adoption process to the next. We met the lawyer at the hospital, signed papers (he only cared about the check and asked about it a couple of times, what a loser),and then went upstairs to the nursery. It was so strange to one minute have it be Mark, Kiah and I and then in the next have a nurse point to a crib and say "there's your baby girl." They told me to sit in a rocking chair and then they gave me Sofi. I held her while Mark made tons of phone calls to family and friends. I fell in love with her instantly and it's been pure love ever since. I can't imagine my life without Sofi, I can't imagine our family without her. It's like there was this spot in our home, in every picture, at the dinner table, while saying prayers, while going on vacations that was just waiting for Sofi to fill it. It truly feels like I was just in that rocking chair holding her and looking at her beautiful big eyes and holding her little fist in mine just yesterday. Now she is almost as tall as I am, she is a spunky, feisty, fashionable little 10 yr old. I'm so glad she is in my life. Happy 10th Sofi!!!